2012 deaths included ‘Boogie’ McCain

Sunday

Dec 30, 2012 at 10:19 PMDec 30, 2012 at 10:21 PM

MONTGOMERY — Deaths of men and women who had major impacts on Alabama in 2012 included the first person on the moon, Neil Armstrong, who rode an Alabama-built Saturn 5 rocket to the lunar surface in 1969 and returned safely.Armstrong died Aug. 25 in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area.

By Dana BeyerleTimes Montgomery Bureau

MONTGOMERY — Deaths of men and women who had major impacts on Alabama in 2012 included the first person on the moon, Neil Armstrong, who rode an Alabama-built Saturn 5 rocket to the lunar surface in 1969 and returned safely.Armstrong died Aug. 25 in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area. He was 82. On July 11, 1969, he stepped from the Apollo 11 lunar onto the moon’s surface and said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant step for mankind.” His family said he died from “complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures.”Deaths of others in sports, politics, law and entertainment included television star George “Goober” Lindsey of “The Andy Griffith Show” and Nicholas deBelleville Katzenbach, who towered over Gov. George C. Wallace during their showdown at the schoolhouse door in 1963 to register two blacks at the University of Alabama.Lindsey died May 6 in Nashville. He was 83. The native of Jasper played the mechanic Goober Pyle on the “The Andy Griffith Show” and was an accomplished actor and comedian. Starting in 1964, Nabors played Goober for seven years and then three years for the sequel, “Mayberry R.F.D.” He played football for Florence State Teachers College, now the University of North Alabama, and raised money for Alabama Special Olympics.Katzenbach died May 8 in New Jersey. He was an attorney who shaped civil rights for the John F. Kennedy administration in the 1960s. He was 90 and had been in failing health after breaking a hip, his wife said. In June 1963, the towering attorney confronted diminutive Gov. George C. Wallace in a doorway at the University of Alabama to register two black students. The World War II veteran’s plane was shot down and he was held as a prisoner of war.Longtime University of Alabama at Birmingham basketball coach Gene Bartow died Jan. 3 in Birmingham. He was 81 and had stomach cancer, according to a UAB spokesman. Bartow succeeded legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden and later started UAB’s athletic program. He coached the Blazers from 1979 to 1996 and finished with 647 coaching wins over 34 seasons.Alabama community and weekly newspaper publisher and owner Kim Price died Jan. 16 in Alexander City of cancer. He was 57. Price published the Wetumpka Herald and was president, publisher and editor of the Shelby County Reporter from 1990 to 2001, and president and publisher of the Alexander City Outlook from 2001 to 2003. He was past president of the Alabama Press Association. His company also owned the Eclectic Observer, the Tallassee Tribune, Elmore County Living Magazine, Gallery of Homes real estate magazine and Covey Rise, a magazine about quail hunting.Former Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Chairman Larry Striplin died Jan. 23 in Birmingham. He was 82. Striplin was the Hall of Fame’s chairman for 13 years and on the board for 23 years.Gadsden broadcaster and businessman Charles Frank “Charlie B” Boman died Jan. 26 in Gadsden. The Korean War veteran was manager and stockholder of WGAD radio, treasurer and stockholder of WEYY in Talladega, and bought WETO in Gadsden in 1963, his obituary said. He started WLJM-FM and purchased TV Facts in 1980. He was president of the Alabama Broadcasters Association from 1968 to 1970 and was inducted into the Alabama Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2008.Former state Sen. Wendell Mitchell of Luverne died Feb. 4 in Montgomery of congestive heart failure. He was 71. Known as “Walking” Wendell Mitchell for his campaigning style, the Democrat represented Senate District 30 from 1974 to 2010. He was an attorney and was dean emeritus of Jones School of Law at Faulkner University in Montgomery.Auburn University and professional football player Wayne Frazier died March 11 in Mobile after a brief bout with brain cancer. He was 73. He played center for the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl I. He lettered at Auburn in 1959, 1960 and 1961. He also played for San Diego Chargers, Houston, Kansas City and Buffalo.Former Alabama High School Athletic Association executive director Herman “Bubba” Scott died March 11 in Montgomery after a brief illness. He was 84. He was the second full-time head of the AHSAA. He was inducted into the National High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1990 and into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. The Navy veteran lettered in football at Troy University.Huntsville electronics company owner and University of Alabama board of trustee member Olin B. King died June 16 in Huntsville. He was 78. The Korean War veteran worked as an engineering manager at the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and founded SCI Systems Inc. in 1961. He served as a member of the board of trustees for the University of Alabama System.Alabama blues harmonica player and recording artist Jerry “Boogie” McCain of Gadsden died March 28. He was 81. McCain’s music career began in 1953. Friend Grover Brown told The Gadsden Times that McCain probably was the greatest harmonica player who ever lived. He got his name in his neighborhood when asked to play “one of those little boogie numbers.”University of Alabama and professional football player Billy Neighbors of Huntsville died April 30. He was 72 and had suffered a heart attack several days before his death. The College Football Hall of Famer played offense and defense for Paul “Bear” Bryant’s first national championship team at Alabama. He played eight years for the Boston Patriots and Miami Dolphins and was twice named All-Pro.The personal chauffeur and assistant to Bryant died Oct. 1 after a long illness. Billy Varner was Bryant’s driver and had served on the University of Alabama’s police force. Varner first met Bryant as a bartender at the Tuscaloosa Country Club.Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Reneau Almon died April 30 in Birmingham. He was 74. A friend, Bob Martin, said Almon died from Alzheimer’s disease and other health problems. The native of Moulton was elected to the Alabama Supreme Court in 1974 and retired in 1999.Former University of Alabama quarterback and SEC and NFL official Robert “Bobby” Skelton, died June 3, in Montgomery. He was 74 and had cancer. Skelton played for Bryant and led the Crimson Tide to a comeback win over Georgia Tech after the coach had just told him during the game that he had played his last down at Alabama, only to be sent back in when starter Pat Trammel got hurt. Skelton officiated Southeastern Conference football from 1972 to 1985, and NFL games on-field from 1985 until 2002. He officiated the 1989 Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals.Longtime Tuscaloosa attorney Barry Mullins died June 13. He was 60. He worked for the Tuscaloosa County Commission from 1985 to 2010, and was a special assistant attorney general for more than 10 years with the Alabama Department of Transportation.Alabama athlete family member Ed “Sipsey” Lary died June 14. He was 85 and had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. He played football and baseball at the University of Alabama. Seven Lary brothers played athletics, including brothers Frank, Al and Gene, who played professional baseball. Ed Lary enlisted in the Navy while in high school during World War II and returned to graduate.Decatur attorney and former Auburn University board of trustee member Robert “Bob” Harris died Aug. 2 in Decatur. He had battled cancer. He served two terms in the state Senate and ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 1978. The native of Goodwater served in the U.S. Army and earned degrees from Auburn and the University of Alabama.Auburn University’s 12th president, Henry Hanley Funderburk Jr., died Aug. 4. He was 81. He was president from 1980 to 1983. The native of Carrollton graduated from Auburn in 1953 and served in the U.S. Army. Funderburk was the first chancellor of the expansion Auburn University Montgomery. In 1985 he was named president of Eastern Kentucky University.Former Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Francis “Frank” Allen Long Sr. of Florence died Aug. 18 in Birmingham. He was 84. He graduated from law school in 1985 after a business career and practiced law in the Shoals. He was appointed a circuit judge in Florence in 1991, was legal advisor to Gov. Guy Hunt and was elected in 1994 to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals.Jordan-Hare Stadium announcer and Auburn University football show host Carl Stephens died Aug. 2 in Montgomery. The native of Gadsden was 77. Stephens announced Auburn and Southeastern Conference athletic events for five decades. He was producer and host of Auburn coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan’s television show. Following Stephens’ introduction, Jordan would say, “You’re so right, Carl.”Former Department of Public Safety Director Mark Peevy of Eclectic died Aug. 6. He was 67. He was a state trooper and retired as public safety director. He served as director in 1993.Former Department of Public Safety Director Michael B. Sullivan died Sept. 10 at age 66. He was director for Gov. Don Siegelman and was a retired state trooper.Former First Lady Jamelle Folsom died Nov. 30. She had cancer, a family friend said. She was married to Gov. James E. “Big Jim” Folsom and was mother of Gov. Jim Folsom Jr.Former legislator and Public Service Commission member Charles Martin of Decatur died there on Dec. 8. He was 81. He served in the House, Senate and for 12 years on the Public Service Commission.State Rep. Yvonne Kennedy of Mobile died Dec. 8 in Birmingham. She was 67. Kennedy was president of Bishop State Community College and a long-serving member of the Alabama House of Representatives.Longtime Gadsden resident and civic leader Alan Cohn died Dec. 26. He was 88. Cohn moved to Gadsden in 1932 with his mother and older brother, Marvin. They founded Marvin’s Hardware. Cohn was a member of the Patriots Hall of Honor and served on the boards of SouthTrust Bank and Riverview Regional Medical Center. He was president of the local Boys Club, for two years was president of the Gadsden Quarterback Club, and was on the boards of the Episcopal Day School, YMCA of the Coosa Valley and the Child Advocacy Center. Cohn was a member of Temple Beth Israel.

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